For around $3000, maybe a 20-22 foot boat might be more what you are looking for. You should be able to find a pretty good boat in that price range. As old boats go there are always things you can (or opt not to) fix on an older boat.

Hey Shock, from your posts it seems that a 30' project boat may not be what you should be looking for - they are generally expensive and incredibly time consuming to return to a decent state. There are loads of neglected boats in Marina's which can look very tempting - even if you understand what it takes to return them to use. As a friend said - "Look at this boat. The guy got it really cheap - $1,000. Spent all his spare time for 2 years and around $5,000 doing it up, and guess what? He now has a boat worth $2,500".

You may be better off looking at boats in the 26-28' range which are ready to sail, and if you have the space trailerable (slip fees can add up very quickly). These boats can be a bit cramped but are fine for the weekend, tend to be simple and inexpensive to maintain. There are loads of choices, but personally I like Santana's and Pearson's. Good luck!

No worries.... At this point I'm just "kicking the tires" so to speak. Seeing what I like and what I don't.

I'd be OK with a 22-24 with an outboard and a port-a-potty. If I manage to find something that is structurally sound but just needs some elbow grease, and just happens to have a built in head and a diesel, great

keep looking i got my islander in seattle last spring for 300 just needed my motor and good cleaning good deals are there just have someone look with you that knows sailboats and isnt looking to buy one they will see things diferently than you do. in the nexxt 3 or so months there will be many good cheap boats come on the market.

I'm basically just looking for a cheap boat to learn on, that I can "weekend" on during the nice weather.

Don't forget to look at boats in the low 20ft range. They still have nice interior and good at overnights and cruising. You can find them in much better shape and same price range as the 25ft and up boats. Some models I came across when I was looking for good low cost start up cruisers were... Macgregor 21s, Oday 22s, Hunter 22s, and I seen some Columbias too. My brother in law just bought a 1980 Macgregor 21 last weekend for $900. This was with the trailer, 5 sails, good mast and rigging. It gets better... the bottom just had a paint job and it shows! Only thing it never came with was a motor but it can run off a small 4hp. The guy who sold it was running it with a 50# thrust electric. I read they are pretty good learning boats that can grow a bit with you. Obvious from my experience, they can be had for very little money. Try sailboatlistings.com or sailingtexas.com for a start.

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